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Astral Spirits: Lifting the Spirit of Jazz
While pop often follows predictable musical patterns, one of the greatest qualities about jazz is its sense of adventurousness and the ability to take the listener on a journey where the destination is unknown. The Astral Spirits label, based in jny: Austin, Texas, and run by musician Nate Cross, truly embraces this quality of jazz. This year, 2019, the label celebrates its five-year anniversary and the quality and scope of the catalog is already dazzling with 100+ releases ...
read moreGarzone, Erskine, Pasqua, Oleskiewicz Live at Sam First
The venue in which you see and hear a performance has always mattered. Perhaps much more so than most people realize or even think about. Acoustics, ambiance, and comfort have always been important. In recent years you see more and more listening rooms popping up. Why? Well, neither acoustics nor talented musicians making great music matter much if the sound of people chatting turns a quartet into an unwanted sextet. Fortunately, venues such as Sam First in Los Angeles have ...
read moreZlatko Kaućić Quintet: Morning Patches
Is there another dimension beyond the 3rd? Past length, breadth, and depth? And if so, can we perceive this fourth dimension? We're talking about sound and where a decent set of speakers creates an imagined material sound space. When you tap into a recording like Morning Patches from the Slovenian percussionist Zlatko Kaučič's Quintet, there appears to be something apart from the classically observed three dimensions. Maybe it is the space in which the recording took place, St. Martin's Church ...
read moreWhy Should There Be Stars
Besides a cursory review of some of the preliminary Grammy ballot submissions, this broadcast included new releases from trumpeter Wallace Roney, vocalists Lili Anel, Lynn Cardona and Heather Bambrick, guitarist Bill Frisell, pianists Hiromi, Lauren Lee and Brenda Earle Stokes, with birthday shout outs to vocalists Ann Richards (pictured) Lauren White, Melissa Stylianou plus pianists Abelita Mateus and Emily Takahashi among others. Playlist Haruna Fukazawa “Contact" from Departure (Summit) 00:00 Lauren White “In a New York Minute" from ...
read moreMareike Wiening: Metropolis Paradise
Composer-drummer Mareike Wiening's album, Metropolis Paradise, is a homage to her six-year residency in New York. And what a special time it must have been--judging from the music--a warm, sunny collection of shimmering and breezy beauty. Wiening wrote all the compositions, and they reflect what might be a perfect day sitting in Central Park under a warm sun, watching the butterflies scatter through the flowers. Wiening's ensemble is very tight, but this does not mean rigid. Instead, it ...
read morePam Taylor: Fate Alchemy
First, this performance does not come from a Pam Taylor recording, rather it is part of the soundtrack for the indy dark comedy Fate Alchemy (Directed by Ace Blankenship, Red Door Artistry, 2019). Taylor, an able guitarist and world-class blues belter steps out of her box, delivers an intensely plaintive and resigned performance of the traditional “House of The Rising Sun," one possessing a 21st Century authenticity not able to be delivered by Eric Burdon and the Animals in 1964, ...
read moreAndrew Dickeson: Groove!
You've got to love a lack of pretense. Australian drummer Andrew Dickeson's Groove! seems--initially at least, with the set's opener, “I'm Old Fashioned"--to be introducing a breezy and unpretentious piano trio affair. The tune has a carefree bounce, and the old put-down of “cocktail piano jazz" comes to mind--though what exactly is wrong with music from a top-notch, deep-in-the-groove cocktail piano trio has never been adequately explained. Maybe the guy who came up with that just had to have horns ...
read moreHouston Person: I'm Just a Lucky So and So
Perhaps tenor saxophonist Houston Person is indeed A Lucky So and So, as he professes on his newly recorded album of that name, but it has taken far more than luck to sustain a long and successful career that spans more than half a century and numbers more than sixty albums as leader of his own groups. Person's “luck," such as it is, has been bolstered by his remarkable ability to connect with listeners—call it charisma or whatever you will—while ...
read moreJose Dias & Awareness: Live at SMUP
On Live at SMUP, guitarist and composer Jose Dias and his Awareness Quartet have produced a stunning musical landscape centered on Dias' interpretation of literary characters, books and writers. Recorded in 2017 at SMUP, a music venue located in Parede, Portugal, Dias, Francisco Andrade on tenor sax, Goncalo Prazeres on alto and baritone sax and Rui Pereira on drums offer explorations that are explosive and nuanced. “John Willoughby's Dilemma," the longest cut of the album, begins with a ...
read moreSara Gazarek, Ella Fitzgerald, Herbie Hancock and More
This week we kick off with the modern day jazz singer who is making waves Sara Gazarek. From there, we dig some new sound from NYC cat Mike Casey as we delve into the modern jazz sounds, we profile the veteran Ray Obiedo and look into new music from the great Kevin Sun. We also explore the old world of jazz with Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra and Stan Getz. We then wrap everything up with some new ...
read moreMark Wingfield & Gary Husband: Tor & Vale
Before receiving widespread exposure as the keyboardist with John McLaughlin's The 4th Dimension band, Gary Husband's notoriety was firmly centered on his polyrhythmic progressive rock and jazz drumming, rising through the ranks by accompanying prodigious guitarists Allan Holdsworth and Robin Trower, amid stints with Level 42, UK and other notables. Moreover, idiosyncratic guitarist Mark Wingfield's notoriety has skyrocketed since joining Moonjune Records several years ago. On this outing, Husband (piano) and the guitarist delve into improvisational and experimental constructions, where ...
read moreStratus Luna: Stratus Luna
These hip young Brazilian cats impart an encyclopedic comprehension of core progressive rock fundamentals, executed with a modern uplift. Hence, there are many tasty treats on this album. Yet the band doesn't predominately focus on extended solos, and concentrates more on compositional acumen, where solos become meaningful amid aural portraitures that adhere to, or in some instances caress, the primary themes. The quartet's textural and layered tactics are consummated with flourishing keys and guitar-based sound designs, along with ...
read moreShowcase
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The Haywain by Hashima
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e.s.t. live in Gothenburg by Esbjorn Svensson
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MonkTime by Leon Lee Dorsey
